Hand flashlight



Nov.' 29, 1949 G' F' N' OLIVER HAND FLASHLIGHT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledAug 5o' 1944 gwm G. F. N. OLIVER HAND FLASHLIGHT l Nov. 29, 1949 FiledAug. 30, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "caf Patented Nov. 29, 1949 HANDFLASHLIGHT George Francis Norris Oliver, London, England,

assignor to Oliver Pell Control Limited, London, England, a Britishcompany In Great Britain September 24, 1943 Application August 30, 1944,Serial No. 551,861

3 Claims.

This invention relates to electric hand flashlights. y

In a flashlight comprising two tubular casing parts Screwed together,one containing the bulb and reflector and the other the battery, thefact that the bulb and reector must be extracted rearwardly from thecasing part containing them when the bulb has to be changed makes itdifficult to provide a satisfactory form of -switch which can beoperated by one hand. Accordingly, a method of switching on and off sucha flashlight at present in use is to screw the one casing partrelatively to the other. Thisvnecessitates the use of two hands. If aswitch is provided to enable the flashlight to be operated by one handit generally depends for its operation upon the resilience of a flatmetal strip, which is not reliable.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a flashlight with aswitch which can be operated by one hand but which will permit the bulbto be readily replaced.

A further object is to provide a one-piece tubular` flashlight head`made from sheet metal or tubular drawn metal and containing in additionto a glass, a reflector, and a bulb-holder, a switch which can beoperated by one hand and is Wholly positive in operation.

Yet another object is to provide an improved flashlight switch whichwill be held by spring action in all its positions so that there is norisk of the energy of the battery being wasted as a result of accidentalmovementcf the switch.

In my invention I provide a novel switch construction in a flashlighthead adapted to be secured to a casing containingl a battery. Thisincludes a pivoted switch member which projects through an opening inthe casing of the head and can rock between two end positions in normaluse but which, when the head is detached from the battery casing and theparts within the casing of the flashlight head are partly withdrawn, canrock further into a position in which it lies entirely within the casingof the head. All the parts within the head can then be withdrawn fromthe casing.

The preferred ernbmiirnentV 0f my invention will now be described by wayof example with reference to the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective View of the complete flashlight;

Figures 2. 3 and 4i are central axial sections through the head of theiiashlight with the switch in three different positions;

Figure 5 all@ 5 'Pf/J9 side elevations at right 'f finger of theoperator.

(Cl. 24U-10.66)

2, angles to one another of an insulating body contained in the head ofthe flashlight; and

Figure 7 is a section on the line VII- VII in Figure 2.

The ashlight shown includes two casing parts l and 2, the part Iaccommodating a dry battery in the usual Way and screwing into the openend of the part 2, which with the elements within it constitutes thehead of the flashlight. Both these casing parts are cylindrical and madefrom tubular drawn metal.

The casing 2 contains an assembly that includes an insulating body 3 anda holder 4 fora bulb stem. A reflector 5 and a glass 6 are also mountedinside the casing 2 and all these parts can be removed from the casingby sliding them rearwardly. The body 3 is provided with a conicalseating 2'! on which the reflector seats and is thereby automaticallycentred on assembly.

The body 3 is formed with three lateral recesses l, 8 and S eachextending over its whole length. At its forward end it is recessed toaccommodate the reflector 5 and a bulb screwed into the bulb holder 4. Aswitch member is accommodated within the recess 8 and it cornprises adolly itl with a cylindrical skirt I I within which there is a contactmember I 2 urged outwardly by a spring I3. The whole switch member ismounted to rock about a pivot I4 which enters openings in the walls ofthe body 3 which bound the recess 8. Figure 2 shows the switch member inthe off position with the contact member I2 bearing against an abutmentsurface which is parallel to the centre line of the fiashlight head andis constituted by the base of the recess 8. In the on position shown inFigure 3 the plunger I2 makes contact with a contact plate I5constituted by a flange on a washer-like member which surrounds the bulbholder 4 and lies at the base of an axial recess in the base of the body3. It will be observed that in moving from the fon position to the offposition the switch member passes through a dead-centre position, theplunger I2 moving inwards against the action of the spring I3 during therst part of the movement and outwards again after the dead-centre hasbeen passed. When the plunger is in the on position shown in Figure 3theswitch member cannot rock further so long as the complete assemblywithin the casing 2 is in the position shown. It will be observed thatin both the off and on positions the dolly lil of the switch memberprojects through a lateral opening I6 in the casing 2 so that it can beengaged by the Thus it will be appreci- 3 ated that in normal use onlyone hand is needed to operate the flashlight and the switch is firmlyheld by the spring I3 in either the on or the "o1 position.

If it is desired to change the bulb the complete assembly is rst movedaxially through a short distance relatively to the casing 2 by pressingon the glass E after detaching the head from' the casing part I. Thenthe switch member will be able to rock further, passing through anotherdeadcentre position in which the plunger l2 is normal to the contactplate I5, until it is arrested by a stop 26 in the position shown inFigure 4. In the course of the movement from the position shown inFigure 3 to that shown in Figure 4, the dolly IIl of the switch memberswings entirely within the casing 2 through the opening I6v and as soonas this has occurred all the parts (including the switch member) can bewithdrawn axially.

As the opening I6 in the casing 2 through which the dolly Il) projectsmust be long enough to allow the switch member to rock, it is convenientto make a sliding shield I'I surround the dolly I0 immediately insidethe casing 2. This shield is made of sheet metal and it is formed withan opening through which the neck of the dolly of the switch memberpasses and with two inturned side flanges I8 which engage iianges I9forming the edges of the recesses 1 and 9. These flanges guide theshield during its sliding movement. The shield serves to keep out dustand is also used to determine the extent of the movement of the switchmember after it has passed over dead-centre from the off position intothe "on position. For

this purpose the shield is arranged to come into l contact with the rearsurface of the reflector 5. It is only when the parts inside the casing2 are slightly withdrawn axially as shown in Figure 4 that the shieldI'I can move further forwards relatively to the whole internal assemblyand allow li the switch member to rock further so that the dolly headlies entirely within the casing.

The pivot I4 for the switch member is constituted by part of a curvedwire spring 20, the parts of which outside the switch member lie in therecesses 'I and 9 and bear against and make electrical contact with theinside of the casing 2.

In a further part of the axial cavity at the rear of the body 3 thereare two cup-shaped plungers 2| and 22 with their open mouths facing oneanother and with a compression spring 23 arranged between them with oneend in each plunger. These plungers are held in position by insulatingmembers 24 and 25, the plunger 2| being urged by the spring into contactwith the central contact of a bulb screwed into the holder 4 and theplunger 22 being urged rearwardly into contact with the contact of abattery contained in the casing part I. Thus the electric circuit runsfrom one contact of the battery through the plunger 22, the spring 23and the plunger 2| to the central contact o1Y the bulb. The circuitcontinues through the bulb filament and bulb stem to the bulb holder 4and thence through the contact plate I5, the plunger I2 of the switchmember, the spring I3, the dolly ID, the wire spring 20, and the casing2 to the casing I and the other contact of the battery.

The flashlight can be made from mass-produced parts and requires noadjustment during or after assembly, whereas in most existingflashlights adjustment is necessary after assembly.

What I claim is:

1. In a flashlight head, an outer casing having a slot formed therein,means on said casing for attaching and detaching same from a batterycontainer, a unitary assembly withdrawably housed in said casing, a bulbholder carried by said untary assembly, bulb-electrode-contacting meanscarried by said unitary assembly, a finger switch pivotally mounted onSaid unitary assembly and positioned to project through the slot of saidcasing when said unitary assembly is within said casing, shielding meansfor said slot movably carried by said unitary assembly and having anopening to receive said nger switch, said shielding means being of suchdimension relative to said casing and said unitary assembly to causelimited pivotal movement of the ringer switch and thus hold the sameprojected through the slot when said unitary assembly is fully housedwithin the casing, said shielding means being movable to a positionbeyond its normal limit upon partial withdrawal of said unitary assemblyfrom said casing to position said opening relative to said slot so thatsaid finger switch may have a more extended travel and thus be fullyretracted within the casing and said unitary assembly further withdrawnfrom said casing.

2. In a ashlight head, an outer casing having a slot therein and adaptedfor attachment to a battery container, a unitary assembly withdrawablyhoused in said casing, a bulb holder within said assembly,bulb-electrode-contacting conductor means, a finger switch pivotallymounted on said unitary assembly and positioned to project through theslot in said casing when said unitary assembly is housed, spring meansproviding for positive snap-over action of said nger switch between onand off positions, shielding means for said slot movably carried by saidunitary assembly and having an opening to receive said finger switch,said shielding means being of such dimension relative to said casing andsaid unitary assembly to cause limited pivotal movement of the fingerswitch and thus hold the same projected through the slot when saidunitary assembly is fully housed within the casing, said shielding meansbeing movable to a position beyond its normal limit upon partialwithdrawal of said unitary assembly from said casing to position saidopening relative to said slot so that said nger switch may have a moreextended travel andthus be fully retracted within the casing and saidunitary assembly further withdrawn from said casing.

3. A flashlight head as claimed in claim 2 including a xed contactelement engaged by the inger switch at one end of its pivotal travel,said engagement contactually completing the conduci tive circuit fromthe base of said unitary assembly to the bulb holder, said contactelement so con.- structed and positioned to cooperate with said springmeans to give a further snap-over action of said nger switch between oneend of its pivotal movement and its fully retracted position.

GEORGE FRANCIS NORRIS OLIVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,398,799 Recker Nov. 29, 19211,588,515 Barany June 15, 1926 1,621,610 Sokolow Mar. 22, 1927 1,674,650Leser June 26, 1928 1,676,849 Barany July 10, 1928 1,849,506 RathmannMar. 15, 1932 1,986,281. Nygard Jan. 1, 1935

